If a data set is skewed to the right, which measure of central tendency is typically larger?

• A. Mean
• B. Median
• C. Mode
• D. Geometric mean

Answer: (A)

In a dataset skewed to the right, a few unusually large values stretch the upper tail and pull the average upward. The mean is calculated by adding all numbers and dividing by how many there are, so those big outliers raise it more than they affect the middle value. The median—the middle value in the ordered list—remains relatively unchanged by extreme highs, so it stays lower. For example, numbers like 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 100 give a mean around 18.3 but a median of 2. While the mode is simply the most frequent value and the geometric mean behaves differently, the key point is that the mean tends to be larger than the median in right-skewed data.